LAS VEGAS — The 2023 National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) International Builders’ Show (IBS), held Jan. 31-Feb. 2 in Las Vegas, broke attendance records and experienced significant growth in attendance, number of exhibitors and exhibit space over the 2022 show.
This year’s IBS attracted nearly 70,000 residential construction professionals, a 45% increase from 2022, and more than 1,300 exhibitors, which is 43% more than the 2022 edition of the trade show. More than 200 of exhibitors were new this year. The size of the show also increased 26% over 2022, spanning just more than 607,000 net square feet this year compared to 480,000 net square feet in 2022. The 2023 edition was one of the most successful events in recent history for NAHB.
Design & Construction Week (DCW), the co-location of IBS and the National Kitchen & Bath Association’s Kitchen & Bath Industry Show, drew nearly 110,000 attendees and almost 2,000 exhibitors overall. DCW spanned more than 1 million square feet of exhibit space both indoors and outdoors at the Las Vegas Convention Center. This year marked the 10th anniversary of the shows co-locating as DCW.
“This year’s exceptional turnout is a clear indication of the strength of the industry and its optimism about the future,” Geoff Cassidy, NAHB Senior Vice President of Exhibitions and Meetings, said. “Attendees took advantage of unique networking opportunities and education sessions that delivered insight and practical guidance to grow their businesses.”
More than 100 educational sessions were well attended at IBS, with 70% of the educational content being new. Some new programming included the IBS Education Super Sessions and Learning Labs, which offered a new learning experience for trade show attendees, and featured town halls, two new live demonstration zones, interviews with industry leaders and debates among other sessions.
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The trade show also had a New Start-Up Zone with 20 companies introducing innovative technologies to the industry for the first time. Companies also took part in a rapid-fire competition as part of the educational sessions.
This year’s IBS provided professionals with fun and lively networking opportunities like the DCW Closing Concert, sponsored by LG, which featured a performance from Sheryl Crow. Some networking events were focused on young professionals including the U40 & Young Professionals Meet-up and Young Professionals Party, and the sold-out Pro Builder & Remodeler’s U40 Leadership Summit served to excite the up and comers for the experiences at IBS.
“From a marketing standpoint, our industry was deemed essential, and our members were building homes throughout the pandemic,” NAHB Vice President Event, Product and Brand Marketing, Denise Miller said. “They were enthusiastic about coming back to Vegas and networking with colleagues. For many of them it would be three years since they met in person. We facilitated highly specialized networking events in what we call ‘Centrals.’ Each Central addresses the needs and concerns of our builder segments — remodeling, multifamily, design, etc. Part of our success was our focus on what was new on the show floor and addressing the issues and changes taking place in the industry.“
The 2024 NAHB International Builders’ Show is slated for Feb. 27-29 in Las Vegas.
Reach Geoff Cassidy at gcassidy@nahb.org; Denise Miller at dmiller@nahb.org
